Improvement in feathering paddle-wheels



r. WALSH.

FEATHERING P ADDLE-WHEELS.

Patented June 27. 1876.

[72 venfoh WM/A UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

THOMAS WALSH, or DUBUQUE, IOWA.

IMPROVEMENT IN FEATHERING PADDLE-WHEELS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 119,143, dated June 27,1876; application filed February 17, 1876.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, THOMAS WALSH, of Duhuque,in the county of Dubuque and State of Iowa, have invented new andImproved Steam- Propelling Paddle Wheels; and I do hereby declare thatthe following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of thisspecification, in which- Figure 1 is a rear or stern view of my improvedwheels hung in bearings at the stern of a boat. Fig. 2 is a side view ofone of said wheels. Figs. 3 and 4 represent a modification in the mannerof fastening the floats to the wheel. 7

The nature of my invention consists, first, in a paddle-wheel having itsfloats pivoted to brackets of the arms of the wheel, in such a mannerthat the floats automatically adjust themselves to such positions thatthey strike the water with their faces nearly parallel to the horizon orsurface of the water, and, while passing below the surface of the waterand through the water, abut with their outer edges against heels orextensions of the arms of the wheel, so as to be firmly supported, and,during one-quarter of the revolution of the wheel, present anoblique-setting broadside for moving against the water, and, during thesucceeding quarter revolution of the wheel, present a face which isnearly vertical with the horizon or surface of the water, and therebyavoid lifting and bearing the weight of the water on their broadsides inemerging therefrom.

In the drawings, A represents the posts or beams carrying thejournal-bearings a, of two paddle-wheels. The said paddle-wheels consisteach of a shaft, B, provided with a crank, 12, and hubs (3, to which thearms D are fastened, in the usual manner. Each arm D is provided with abracket, E, to which, by means of a pivot, 61, a T-shaped strap, f, isattached. A float, F, is fastened crosswise to two or more such straps,according to the number of hubs or parallel arms on the shaft.

The pivot d is at some distance from the arm D, which arm serves as anabutment for the float at either side of the said pivot, as indicated inFig. 2. These several floats on the paddle-wheels will right themselvesabove the water, according to theirown facilities for balancing. In thewater the said floats will, at the beginning of the stroke of the wheel,be thrown against their abutments or arms I), as seen in Fig. 2, andwill be kept in this position, or nearly so, until they are whollysubmerged, at which time the resistance of the water will be about equalto the upper and lower half of such fioat, and cause it to stand aboutin the same line as the arm to which it is fastened.

The angle at which the floats approach the surface of the water is suchthat at a normal speed of the vessel the whole forward resistance of thewater falls upon the lower edges of the floats, thus causing the floatsto articulate more or less upon their pivots cl, and so avoid a waste ofpower by splashing, which is caused by the use of fixed floats. Thefloats leave the water in a nearly perpendicular position to the surfaceof the water, thereby avoiding the lifting of water, as in the case offixed floats, and the loss of power.

The difficulty of steering vessels propelled by paddle-wheels at thestern is well known; but by having two paddle-wheels, each driven by aseparate engine, I overcome such difficulty, either by applying morepower to one of the paddle wheels, or by stopping the operation of onepaddle wheel altogether, thereby throwing the greater propelling poweron that side of the vessel where it is most needed. Under thesecircumstances" the use of the rudder becomes unnecessary, and it may beallowed to hang loose. It the vessel is to be reversed, the two paddlewheels are revolved in opposite directions, and the vessel will swingaround the center of the two paddlewheels the same as if it were pivotedin that place, while the old mode of reversing the vessel by aid of therudder can only be done by moving the vessel in long curves, thusrequiring a broad channel in river navigation.

I have shown in Figs. 3 and at a diflerent mode of attaching the floats,whereby the clasps are substituted by T-shaped straps E, which arefastened to the arms D by U-shaped bolts 6. The floats F are thenprovided with T-shaped straps f, with double parallel heads f, as seenin Fig. 4., between which the head In testimony that I claim the aboveas my invention, witness my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS WALSH.

Witnesses:

JOSEPH OoLLINsoN, JAMES MGGLAIN.

